Notes & Asides.

-- Dear Mr. Buckley: W. H. von Dreele is so prolific that one might tend to take his witty verse for granted or skim right over it. But the eight lines of rhymed, perfectly metered tetrameter on Bush's European trip (June 30) are really ingenious.

Look what he packs into the four lines on the French visit: "In Evian, a 'put it there' / From George to that Old Europe pair / Relieved the tension; but worldviews / Preclude invites to barbeques." Check the rhyming of "a 'put it there'" with "Old Europe pair"; also "worldviews" precluding "barbeques."

Hysterical. He tells a long story with brevity, charm, and perfect technique.

And he does it all the time.

Sam Segal

East Hampton, N.Y.

--Dear Mr. Segal: You have a sharp eye. Von Dreele is very special and uniquely ingenious.

Cordially, WFB 

-- Dear Mr. Buckley: Though a fan of your non-fiction for many years, I've only recently learned that you've written novels as well. Don't ask where I've been, but this news was a surprise to me!

Anyway, I've recently read A Very Private Plot, and was excited, upon finishing it, by an idea for it. Have you considered turning it into a movie? It would be a huge success, and I can even picture Robert Duvall in the lead, with Tom Hanks playing his son.

This would rank among successful intrigue films as gripping as The Third Man.

With enthusiasm,

Carolyn C. Billotte

Elyria, Ohio 

--Dear Ms. Billotte: I think that's a terrific idea. And maybe Mr. Scorsese should direct it? Get it made, and herewith 10 percent of the proceeds.

Cordially, WFB

-- Dear Mr. Buckley: A question for your N&A column: "That is him" is idiomatic and "That is he" is logical, but which is correct?

Max Hocutt

Northport, Ala.

--Dear Mr. Hocutt: "That is he" is grammatically correct. "That is him" is common usage. It would be more permissible, by idiomatic rules, if it were expressed, "That's him."

Cordially, WFB

-- Dear Mr. Buckley: A Mr. Cummings from California wrote (June 16) to complain about the Mormon in your novel, Getting It Right. I'm afraid you were too short with him.

You see, we Mormons make rather heavy weather about sins of the flesh. We find it especially shocking for a missionary to forget himself so far. Nowadays, fornicating missionaries are usually excommunicated. When, added to that, we find that the character married out of the Church, we recognize that he is of that sort who are Mormon more or less by charity and sufferance. It's a demanding faith, Mr. Buckley.

This is not to justify but to excuse Mr. Cummings's reproof. He stands in need of excuse, I fear: By his own admission he appears not to have read the novel.

As for my own view, I note that the character has quite a bit to do with the conservative movement. Helping God to speed the Right covers a multitude of sins, is it not so?

Sincerely,

Adam Greenwood

Notre Dame, Ind.

--Dear Mr. Greenwood: I grant what you say, but remind you that the laws you cite apply equally in Judeo-Christian teachings.

Perhaps your point is that iniquities ascribed to a Mormon defy the novelist's license. If you are saying that empirical research would establish that this is so, I hope you would be proved right.

Moreover, the liberties I took were not, kindly remember, skeptical in the matter of Mormon teachings; skeptical only that such teachings are never defied, e.g., by 19-year-olds exposed to expert seduction.

Cordially,

-- WFB